Lights, Camera, Action
by aestheticsmile
Summary: AU Brittana— Santana Lopez is hired for one of the lead roles in a new hit TV Show produced by her friend Kurt. Brittany Pierce plays her on-screen wife, and also holds a not so secretive crush on the huge star. But with a troubled past, Santana finds it difficult to let Brittany in and provide her help when she needs it.


Santana Lopez stepped out of her black Audi convertible and waved to a few fans hanging behind the gate, setting off a series of camera flashes and excited screams. She smiled and entertained them with a few poses for a few more minutes, before grabbing her purse and walking inside the studio.

"Ms. Lopez, water?" A tall, scrawny brunette teenager asked and held out a silver tray. "Or snacks? There's caviar in the back—"

"No thank you, Samuel." Santana politely declined. "I have a meeting to get to."

"Right, of course! Do you need me to escort you there? I can, I don't have anything else to—"

Santana laughed softly and shook her head. "That won't be necessary, but thank you again." She pulled a fifty dollar bill out of her wallet and slipped it under the sleeve of Samuel's vest. "Keep up the good work." Santana winked, adjusting her sunglasses to sit on top of her head.

"Thank you Ms. Lopez!" Samuel called after the Latina as she sauntered away.

* * *

"So sorry I'm late, traffic was insane on the bypass." Brittany quickly apologized as she jogged into the conference room. She set her paperwork and purse on the table before sitting in the chair on the far end. She ran her fingers through her hair and let out a deep breath.

"Oh it's fine Brittany, there's no rush." Kurt smiled and handed the blonde a script. Brittany flipped through the pages, furrowing her brows at the unfamiliar pink markings. "Rachel took it upon herself to go through and highlight everyone's lines, so you wouldn't have to worry about doing it." He explained. Brittany glanced to Rachel, who was sitting on the opposite side of the room, and mouthed a _thank you_. Rachel nodded graciously in return.

"Can we get this started, please? I need to be back at the office by four." An older blonde stated while glancing at the diamond watch on her wrist. "I'm booked until seven with clients."

" _Mom_." A younger brunette whispered harshly. "Chill."

"Of course, Mrs. Reynolds. My apologies." Kurt nodded and took a seat at the head of the table, next to one of LA's top directors, Artie Abrams. "I just want to start off this meeting by saying congratulations to everyone for receiving their roles to the series, I am extremely excited about it." He clapped for a moment before continuing, "and thank you Santana for agreeing to be apart of the cast."

"Ugh." Mrs. Reynolds rolled her eyes. Santana raised a brow, but kept silent.

Kurt cleared his throat, "Artie, why don't you take the floor." He suggested while motioning forward.

"Alright." Artie shrugged and rolled to the center of the room. "I'm going to start by listing off our cast and their roles in the series, just for clarification."

"Clarification for who?" Mrs. Reynolds snapped. "Everyone already knows what role they're playing and that's why we are here. If I had known this meeting would be a pointless, ' _get to know you_ ' game, I wouldn't be here."

"Oh my god, mom, then leave!" The teenager next to her exclaimed, her blue eyes wide. "You're being so rude right now."

Mrs. Reynolds gasped and stared at her daughter in shock. "Emma Marie, watch your tone with me!"

"Ladies, please." Artie sighed. "Mrs. Reynolds, if you need to leave we can discuss meeting privately, or Emma can stay and inform you on what you missed later."

"And how do you suppose she get's home?" Mrs. Reynolds snarled. Emma groaned and rubbed her temples harshly. "I have clients until seven, as I've already stated, I don't have time to come back and pick her up. It will be far too late."

"I can give her a ride, Mrs. Reynolds, if you would like." Santana offered. She winked at Emma, who instantly perked at the idea and smiled gratefully.

"I just met you a few days ago, absolutely not." Mrs. Reynolds shook her head.

"Mom, please just go." Emma pleaded. "Santana will drop me off at home when we're finished, I'll call daddy and tell him."

Mrs. Reynolds scoffed. "You most certainly will—"

"Um, hi, sorry," Another blonde mother interrupted with a soft smile. "I could always drop your daughter off, our house is on the way anyways." She glanced at her thirteen year old daughter, who smiled and nodded. "It really wouldn't be a problem."

Mrs. Reynolds examined Kaylyn and her mother for a moment, before nodding slowly. "I guess that will be fine." She grabbed her purse and stood quickly. "I'll see you at the house, darling." She blew a kiss to her daughter before leaving the room.

"Seriously?" Santana rolled her eyes. Brittany chuckled softly and nodded her head in agreement.

"Okay, umm, great, glad we have that cleared up." Kurt smiled with relief. "Now, Artie, continue please, if you will."

Artie nodded and held up his clipboard. "Carmen Rivera, our kick ass lawyer by day, and doting wife and mother to three by night, has been casted by Santana Lopez."

"For our role of Carmen's wife, the loving and playful dance teacher, Lori, we have casted Brittany Pierce." Artie stated while motioning towards the tall blonde.

"Emma Reynolds," Artie nodded his head towards the slim brunette across from him, "has been casted for the role of the Rivera's eldest daughter, straight A student/cheerleader Madison. Kaylyn Slevin has been casted for the role of the Rivera's thirteen year old daughter, McKinley, and Patrick Heaney has been casted for the role of the Rivera's youngest and only son, Nicholas." Artie paused to gauge everyone's reaction. "Are there any questions?"

Kaylyn slowly raised her hand, her long blonde ponytail falling over her shoulder.

"Yes, Miss Slevin?" Kurt smiled.

"Am I going to get more information on my character? Like, her likes and dislikes, what she enjoys doing in her spare time, those sorts of things?" Kaylyn asked. "Because it really helps with my acting if I have time to create McKinley before hand."

Kurt nodded quickly. "Of course, of course. I have much more in depth information on each of your characters, you can grab the files from Rachel on your way out."

Kaylyn smiled and nodded. "Awesome."

"Oh, Santana and Brittany, Artie would like to speak with you before you leave if you have the time." Kurt said while flipping through the stack of papers in his lap.

Santana looked at Brittany for the first time since the meeting had began and smiled, momentarily losing her breath when the blonde's bright blue eyes locked with hers. Their gaze was broken a moment later when Patrick sneezed, and Santana quickly averted her eyes to her lap, her caramel cheeks tinted red. Brittany had to bite her lip to keep from smiling too hard.

"Yeah sure, no problem." Santana nodded and grabbed her purse. She followed Brittany out of the room and stepped to the aside where Artie was sitting.

"I just want to go through and clarify what will and will not be okay to film before we shoot the pilot." Artie told them. "I have a list of things here, just say yes or no when I say them."

"Okay." Santana nodded.

"Sounds good." Brittany agreed easily.

"Good," Artie smiled. "Bed scenes?"

"Yes." Santana and Brittany replied in unison.

Santana glanced at Brittany and blushed. "Wait, what sort of bed scenes? Could you go more into detail?" Santana then asked.

Artie nodded. "Nothing too heated of course, since this is a family show, I would just say cuddling, probably kissing, mostly innocent. _Maybe_ a half nude scene at some point?"

"Maybe?" Brittany laughed.

"Well yes, I would have to run it by the network first." Artie shrugged. "Thoughts?"

"Half nude as in topless?" Santana shrugged when Artie nodded. "I'm fine with it, as long as Brittany is of course."

"I don't have a problem with it." Brittany smiled.

"Great, great." Artie jotted down a few notes before continuing. "Sexual topics."

"Yes."

"Maybe," Brittany shook her head. "I'll get back to you on that."

"Okay," Artie wrote a small dash beside ' _Sexual T's_ ' "Homophobia."

"Definitely." Santana said immediately. "I think that is an issue we for sure need to cover." She continued, "There aren't many shows highlighting gays or lesbians on air, so with this show we should definitely take advantage and discuss the more controversial topics related to the hate a lot of people in the LGBT receive regularly, just for their sexuality."

Brittany locked eyes with Santana, smiling slightly at the passion she found in the dark eyes staring back. "I agree completely." She said softly.

"And you are absolutely right, girl." Artie nodded, scribbling frantically on his notepad. "Okay, hmm, Depression."

"No." Santana said quickly, shaking her head.

"Okay, no. That's alright." Artie marked out the topic while Brittany stared at the woman with slight concern. "Those were the main things I wanted to discuss with you ladies in person. I'll email you the remainder of the list this evening." Artie stated and set his pen down. "Do you have any questions for me?"

When both women shook their heads no, Artie smiled. "Then I think we're done." He gave them a thumbs up. "Have a good day, you two."

* * *

Santana sighed and combed her fingers through her hair as she walked towards her car. She was relived to see that the paparazzi wasn't hanging around, which meant she could relax and leave her fake smile behind for a little bit.

"Emma?" Santana paused when she saw the teenager standing beside her car, a look of conflict on her face. "What are you doing here? Aren't you riding home with Kaylyn?"

Emma shook her head, causing Santana's frown to deepen. "Kaylyn's mom got a call about her dad being in the hospital again, they had to go directly there. I think he's sick with something, but she won't say what." Emma shrugged and rocked on the heels of her Tory Burch sandals. "Could you give me a ride? Please?" She asked softly. "If not I'll have to call my mom, and she'll be pissed."

"Well we definitely don't want that," Santana teased. Emma laughed and nodded in agreement. "Of course honey, hop in." Santana nodded, hitting the button to unlock the car.

Emma smiled gratefully and opened the door, tossing her purse in the floorboard before climbing in the passenger seat. "Give me your address, sweetheart." Santana said while turning on her GPS.

Emma scooted forward and typed in her address, double checking to make sure it was correct, before leaning back. She buckled her seatbelt and turned on her side when Santana pulled off the lot. "Is it like this a lot for you?" Emma asked as a group of paparazzi appeared from behind the bushes, yelling out questions and flashing their cameras.

"Yes." Santana sighed and hit the button to adjust the roof of her car. "Hide your face, sweetheart, I don't think your mother would appreciate seeing your face all over next week's _People_." She told her softly.

Emma nodded and shifted further into the seat, hiding her face behind her hands.

"We're in the clear." Santana said once she pulled onto the freeway.

Emma moved her hands away from her face and sat up straight, glancing behind them with a frown. "That was crazy."

"I know, I'm sorry." Santana shook her head. "They have no respect for privacy, remember that honey." She briefly glanced at Emma before looking back to the road. "This is the type of lifestyle you're signing up for when you put yourself in the public eye."

Emma cocked her head to the side. "Are you saying I'm making a mistake by doing the show?"

"No, that isn't what I'm saying." Santana sighed. "I just want you to be aware of how quickly your life can change from this television show."

Emma nodded slowly. "Do you regret putting yourself in the public eye?"

"Sometimes." Santana replied honestly. "But overall I love what I do, and I love my fans. I wouldn't change the decision I made nearly ten years ago."

Emma nodded but didn't respond, and unbuckled her seatbelt as the Audi pulled up to large iron gates. "The code is 55623." She told Santana. Santana nodded and rolled down her window to type in the code.

"Thanks for the ride, I really appreciate it." Emma said while climbing out of the car. "I won't tell my mom." She added with a small smile.

"Please don't, she may kill me." Santana laughed. "It was no problem, sweetheart. I don't mind driving you home." She assured.

Emma nodded. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Bye." Santana waved, and Emma waved back, before disappearing into the large stone house. "Poor kid." Santana whispered to herself.

* * *

"Meg?" Brittany called out into the silent condo as she closed the door behind her. "Meg, are you here?"

"Kitchen!" A female voice yelled back.

Brittany smiled and tossed her keys in the small ceramic bowl on the coffee table, before heading to the kitchen. "Ooh, what are you cooking?" She asked happily.

"Spaghetti and meatballs, your favorite." The tall, strawberry blonde replied with a wink. "How was work, babe? Anything interesting happen on your first day?"

"Not really, since it was just a meeting with the cast. But I did speak with Santana for the first time..." Brittany smiled faintly at the thought of the fiery Latina. "She was, just, hmm..."

"Mhmm, was she as dreamy in person as she is in the magazines?" Megan teased, noticing the look on her girlfriend's face.

Brittany quickly shook her head. "Sorry," She blushed. "I'm not being fair to you. I know you don't want to hear about my non-subtle crush on Santana."

"No, it's fine. I think it's kind of cute, actually." Megan shrugged. "It's not like you have a chance with her anyway, so I'm not worried."

Brittany frowned. "Aside from me being with you, what makes you think I don't have a chance?"

Megan stared at Brittany with a raised brow. "I mean, Britt, come on its obvious." She laughed. "She's this huge celebrity actress, who goes to high end award shows and receives Oscar and Emmy nominations. You're more low key." Megan explained. "Plus she's kind of crazy, so I'm not sure why you would want to date her anyway." She chuckled.

"What?" Brittany's frown deepened. "Santana isn't crazy, what are you talking about?"

"She fell off the deep end a few years ago, remember? It was everywhere– in the tabloids, on the news." Megan cut the oven off and bent down to pull the meatballs out. "I felt so bad for her, I hadn't seen a breakdown like that since Britney Spears."

"Megan, she was going through a lot. Remember that?" Brittany countered. "Santana's human just like us. She went through a messy divorce, lost custody of her kid— hell, I would lose it too. A lot of people have, she was just unlucky enough to have it caught on camera. That isn't her fault," Brittany shook her head, her mood suddenly glowering at the thought. "Like you said, she's a huge celebrity, but she's also a normal person. Please don't talk bad about her, she has enough people doing that already."

Megan cleared her throat and nodded. "Yeah, you're probably right. Sorry." She mumbled. "So, umm, today was good?"

"Today was fine." Brittany nodded. "I'm going to shower before dinner." She stated, leaving the kitchen before Megan could respond.

* * *

11pm

Santana slipped underneath the covers after a long relaxing shower, sighing with relief when her head hit the pillow. She snuggled further into the warmth and released a content hum, only to be interrupted by the sound of TLC's 'Creep' blasting through the room.

Santana groaned softly, forcing her tired red eyes open as she grabbed her phone from the nightstand. A huge smile immediately spread across her face when she saw the caller ID and she quickly answered. "Hey baby, why are you up so late?"

" _Hey Mama_." A soft voice replied. " _I was at nana's house all day and just got home, mom said I could call you before bed_."

Santana smiled. "Well I'm glad you did, Maddie. How was your day, baby girl?"

" _It was good. I started a new chapter book today at school_." Maddie replied. " _How was your day Mama?_ "

"My day was pretty good, it tired me out though." Santana admitted as she laid back down.

" _Oh sorry, were you about to go to sleep when I called?_ " Maddie asked worriedly. Santana couldn't help but grin at her daughter's sincere concern.

"I was, but it's okay sweetheart. I would never miss an opportunity to talk to my favorite person in the whole world." Santana assured.

" _Well I'm tired too, Mama, but I wanted to call and tell you goodnight and that I love you._ " Maddie said sweetly. " _Can I call you when I get out of school tomorrow?_ "

"You can, and now I'm glad I have something to look forward to tomorrow." Santana teased. "Goodnight Madeline, I love you so so much sweetheart. I'll be waiting to hear from you tomorrow."

" _Love you too, talk to you tomorrow. Have a good night's sleep_." _Click_.

Santana stared at her phone for a moment after Maddie hung up before tossing it back on the bedside table. She rolled over and stared at the picture of her and Maddie on Thanksgiving a few years ago, blinking away the few tears that threatened to fall. She quickly turned to where her back was facing the picture and buried herself beneath the covers.

Santana quietly hummed to herself to fill the silence of her empty home and didn't stop until her breathing evened out and she had fallen into a dreamless sleep.


End file.
